Using Git

Note: While the official name of the window manager and executable is snapwm, you will notice that in moetunes' GitHub, the directory is named Nextwm which may cause some confusion.

Xlib is all that is required. To install it, do:

$ make
# make install
$ make clean

Alternative method

Instead of actually installing it system-wide as above, you can simply run make and then copy the executable to somewhere in your path, like ~/bin for example. You can then run it the same way (exec snapwm) on a per user basis.

Dmenu

Most users will want this. As the name implies, dmenu is a menu that acts like an auto-complete for typing the name of binaries. It integrates well with tiling window managers like snapwm. See the dmenu wiki page or man dmenu for more info.

The sample.key.conf file comes with a command to start demenu_run, which will search $PATH for a matching executable as soon as you start typing.

apps.conf

DESKTOP is used to set the desktop that an app will open on and whether to change to that desktop when the app opens.

POSITION is used to set the geometry of an app in stacking mode.

DESKTOP takes the form of :

DESKTOP<space><window class>;<desktop to open on>;<zero to change to that desktop>;

<window class> is found by using xprop on the app and reading the WM_CLASS value.(The WM_NAME value can be used as well)

POSITION takes the form of :

POSITION<space><window class>;<x>;<y>;<width>;<height>;

The Bar

Snapwm has an integrated bar that has a clickable desktop switcher, shows the tiling mode, shows the focused window's name and has space to display some external text.

The desktop switcher can optionally show the number of windows open on unfocused desktops and in fullscreen mode. Clicking on the current desktop in the switcher will focus the next window. Clicking elsewhere in the bar will change to the last desktop.

The bar uses the root window's name to display colored external text, which can be changed with xsetroot -name.

For example, with conky, you could use something like:

$ conky | while read -r; do xsetroot -name "$REPLY"; done &

You can toggle the bars' visibility.

Default keyboard shortcut : Super+b

There's options in the rc file to have the bar shown at the top or the bottom. The bars' position is changeable in the running wm by editing the rc file.

Colors

The colors for the desktop switcher are defined in SWITCHERTHEME in rc.conf.

Color 0 : focused desktop in switcher.

Color 1 : unfocused desktop in switcher.

Color 2 : unfocused desktop in switcher with open windows.

Color 3 : the bar's border.

Color 4 : desktop with window that's set the urgent hint

The colors for the rest of the bar and text in the bar are defined in STATUSTHEME in rc.conf.

Color 0 : the default background colour for the bar

Color 1 : the current desktop font in the switcher and also for external text.

Color 2 : the unfocused desktops font in the switcher and also for external text.

Color 3 : the unfocused desktops with opened windows font in the switcher and also for external text.

Color 4 : the focused window name font and also the for external text.

Colors 5 - 9 : are for external text.

The colors for the windows are defined in WINDOWTHEME in rc.conf.

Color 0 : focused window border.

Color 1 : unfocused window border.

The colors for external text can be displayed by placing & in front of the number of the color in your script. For example, using conky, you could do something like this for displaying the time using the second color for external text:

&1${time %I:%M}

The background colour in the bar can be changed by placing &B in front of the number of the wanted colour in your script.
For example, using conky, you could do something like this for displaying the time using the third colour for the background and the second color for external text:

&B2&1${time %I:%M}&B0

The colors in the running wm are changeable by editing the rc file and updating.

Icons

The bar does not support icons but you can draw "icons" into a font and use those. You can find more info on that in the dwm hacking thread on the forum. There are a few fonts in the AUR, such as terminusmodAUR, tamsynmodAUR, termsynAUR, and ohsnap that have some icons. To have them shown in the bar print them in a terminal then copy/paste them in rc.conf or your script/conky. You can also use a font like stlarch_font that just contains icons. You can use it in combination with another font using a comma to separate them in your rc.conf:

Layout modes

Snapwm has five layout modes: vertical, fullscreen, horizontal, grid and center stacking. The tiling mode for each desktop is set in rc.conf, and can be changed in the running wm.

It allows the "normal" method of tiling window managers, with the new window as the master, or with the new window opened at the top or bottom of the stack (attach aside). The default tiling method for all layout modes is set in rc.conf, and can be changed in the running wm. There are settings in rc.conf to have usesless gaps for the tiling modes.

Vertical

--------------
| | W |
| |___|
| M | |
| |___|
| | |
--------------

Default keyboard shortcut: Alt+Shift+v.

Windows can be added/removed from the master area with a keyboard shortcut.

Fullscreen

Takes up all the screen less the bar.

Default keyboard shortcut: Alt+Shift+f.

There are no borders in fullscreen mode or if there is only one open window.

Horizontal

-------------
| |
| M |
|-----------|
| W | | |
-------------

Default keyboard shortcut: Alt+Shift+h.

Windows can be added/removed from the master area with a keyboard shortcut.

Transparency

Unfocused windows have an alpha value and can be transparent if used with a compositing manager (like cairo-compmgr).

The value is a percent and can be changed in the running wm by editing the rc file, 100 is opaque.

Multi monitor support

With X aware of multiple connected monitors, snapwm will place different desktops on each monitor.

Using xrandr, or the appropriate method for the graphics card, set the second monitor to the right of the first,
the third monitor to the right of the second, etc.

Using two monitors and four desktops as an example:

desktops 1 & 3 will show on monitor 1, the last focused one always visible

desktops 2 & 4 will show on monitor 2, the last focused one always visible

To move an application to the other monitor, send it to the desktop showing on that monitor
with the follow_/client_to_desktop functions.

If a monitor is connected while snapwm is running, the bar will flash when xrandr finds the new monitor
then run the appropriate xrandr command and snapwm will reconfigure the desktops to use the new monitor.

Desktop Managers

Most desktop managers will need a file in /usr/share/xsessions to have snapwm as a choice at login.
A simple one would be: